What They Say About Us

The Five O'Clock Club is recognized as an

authority on workplace and career issues.
Here is a small selection of some of the many
newspapers, magazines, and TV shows that have
featured the Five O'Clock Club...

A survey of professionals, managers and executives

by the Five O’Clock Club shows that direct contact is a
more effective use of time when seeking meetings with
hiring managers. True, severance packages will likely become less gen-
These polled job seekers contacted association mem- erous as corporate profits plunge. And, in mass lay-
bers, professionals identified through newspaper articles offs, it will be tougher to convince the boss to single
or the Internet, and others who were in a position to hire. you out for better treatment. But, exceptions are made.
Surveyed job hunters spent 24% of their time making Richard Bayer, chief operating officer of The Five
these kinds of contacts, which yielded 27% of their meet- O’Clock Club, a national career-counseling and out-
ings. In contrast, they spent 45% of their time networking, placement form, points to a client laid off three
yet this job-search technique produced only 35% of their months after moving across the country to take a new
meetings, the Five O’Clock Club reports. These results job. Reminding supervisors that his wife had just quit
reveal that direct contact is the most time-efficient method her job to follow him, he appealed to the company's
for getting meetings. Networking takes more time. sense of fairness. In the end, he won additional cash
and career counseling. Your mantra should be, “I just
want to be treated fairly,” says Bayer.
The Five O’Clock
Club has been on
the Today Show
11 times. ***

NANETTE
An unemployed computer specialist recently
HANSEN, anchor:
joined The Five O’Clock Club, a national career-
Here with advice
coaching and outplacement organization. He lost his
on landing that job
job in the pharmaceutical industry a year ago and was
is Richard Bayer;
beginning to feel desperate. “A person like that who
He’s the chief operating officer of The Five O’Clock
has spent his entire life in one industry thinks he just
Club, a national outplacement and career counseling
has to hang in there,” said Ms. Wendleton. With the
firm. Good morning, Richard...and welcome back.
pharmaceutical industry on hold, this candidate was
Mr. BAYER: It’s great to be here again.
advised to broaden his search to include biotechnology
HANSEN: OK. For folks who may be watching who are
companies and medical service companies that are
not currently one of your clients, maybe you can share
growing. “Within four weeks, he had six job possibili-
some of the wealth here. What’s your advice for folks
ties,” Ms. Wendleton said.
who may be getting a little bit discouraged?
One thing Ms. Wendleton and other consultants
Mr. BAYER: If you’re getting discouraged, expand your
stress is that you must first assess your job skills and
targets. Expand where you’re willing to work geographi-
think about how they can be applied in different
cally, your industry and your function. We had a high-
industries. “If your industry is in trouble and you
school science teacher who didn’t want to teach high-
insist on targeting only your own field, you’re going
school science anymore. He wound up in pharmaceutical
to have a longer search,” Ms. Wendleton said. “If
sales. He changed both industry and function.
you get a job, you’re going to lose it faster.”
 It’s important to be honest on
your resume — whether you’re
applying for a job as company president or as a janitor
Career counselors say that one of the most valuable
— because the risk of being caught in a lie is so great it
methods of networking is often overlooked: connecting
isn’t worth it, experts say.
with the people you deal with on the job every day.
“You really don’t want to lie about anything, because
Kate Wendleton, president of The Five O’Clock Club,
people do check and you can get found out,” said
a career-counseling and outplacement company based
Richard C. Bayer, chief operating officer of the Five
in New York, tells her own customers that networking
O’Clock Club career coaching and outplacement firm in
with clients is one of the best ways to make a transition
New York. “If that happens, you won’t get hired, or
to another job or to lay the groundwork for future
worse, you’ll get fired.”
career moves. Ms. Wendleton tells clients that finesse is
Bayer of the Five O’Clock Club agrees that it’s
needed to avoid being perceived as opportunistic or
important for job seekers to put a strong summary state-
unethical, or incur the wrath of a current boss.
ment at the top of a resume. “You need to make it clear
at the top what it is you want to do,” Bayer said.
“Otherwise, you’re positioned by your most recent job.”
And, Bayer said, it isn’t necessary to give each job PBS visited the Five
equal prominence; you can highlight those you want the O’Clock Club in 2003. A year
hiring manager to notice. He also says job seekers later, they wanted to re-interview
shouldn’t feel uncomfortable about revealing why they those who attended a year ago
left a previous job, even if it was not voluntary. and were still unemployed, to see
“In today’s economy — with plant closings, out- how they were holding up. But
sourcing, downsizing, mergers and acquisitions — it’s everyone had found a job, so
not unusual to lose a job through no fault of your own,” they had to change their story!
Bayer said. “Human resource managers understand this “When we checked in with this group one year
and should not judge you unfairly for it.” later, almost everyone had a job; most had better
jobs!” —Jim Lehrer
Your job hunt “What they were doing sitting around a table was
must go on. Dr. honing face-to-face skills. I mean, they were all in
Richard Bayer, The those kinds of professions – advertising, marketing,
Five O’Clock Club’s chief operating officer, has the fol- dealing with other people, so on and so forth – and
lowing suggestions for you: “If you call someone whose what they were practicing at that table was the thing
company was directly affected by the events of September that would eventually get them all reemployed.”
11th to discuss a job interview, you should start the conver- —Frank Levy,
sation by acknowledging the situation: ‘I hope you and author, “The New Division of Labor”
yours are safe.’ You may even apologize, by saying some-
thing like, ‘I’m really sorry to bother you at a time like
this, but I wrote to you last month about the possibility of
having a brief meeting with you. Is this a good time for but it is based on two things that Organization Man
you to talk?’ avoided like the plague: disloyalty and feelings.
Adds Bayer, “This is uncharted territory for all of us. Rather than allowing jobs to define their lives, as
My thought is that you should not engage in conversation Organization Man did, the club’s members are encour-
about their specific situation. You just want to ask if this is aged to decide on their own goals — to imagine what
an appropriate time to talk about your job search.” sort of person they want to be in 40 years’ time, for
example — and then to design their careers around that
What on Earth would goal.
Organization Man, that stolid icon of Naturally, the club owes at
the 1950’s, make of The Five O’Clock least some of its success to America’s
Club? With meetings around America, booming economy, but its founder,
most of the club’s members are 33-55 Kate Wendleton, insists that it has also
years old and a third of them earn more than $100,000 thrived because it is catering to fundamental changes
a year. The club offers plenty of regular career advice in working life.
 Soledad O’Brien: Let’s talk about
jobs right now, nearly 136,000 jobs
were lost this quarter from company
cutbacks. Joining us today with some
Old-fashioned networking works well, but
advice for job hunters is Dr. Richard Bayer, the COO of
takes a lot of time. Many career experts now pre-
the Five O’Clock Club, a national career-counseling firm;
fer a more direct approach. Get to know numer-
Dr. Bayer, for folks who are watching right now, what
ous current or potential hiring managers and
advice can you give to aid them in their job search?
“stay in touch with them,” says Richard Bayer,
Richard Bayer: “People should first expand their targets, chief operating officer of The Five O’Clock Club,
look at larger geographic areas, and be flexible about a New York-based career-counseling organiza-
their industry and function. You want to have at least 200 tion. “When an opening does come up, they have
positions to target, not openings, but positions, and try to you in mind.”
keep at least 6 to10 possible job offers in the works at all “Direct contact” beats advertisements and
times. These tips are a must for an aggressive and suc- recruiters as the best method to gain meetings
cessful job search. We also have a saying here at the Five with possible hiring managers, concludes a recent
O’Clock Club, and that’s “Only insiders get hired.” that survey of 200 job hunters by The Five O’Clock
is, you need to know the people and speak the lan- Club. Respondents felt that networking was more
guage— attend networking groups, read the industry effective but direct contact was more efficient
journals, and make yourself an asset.” when they considered the amount of time spent
trying to gain meetings.

“Employers do have an incentive to treat you decent-

ly because the employer wants to preserve the morale of
the surviving workforce,” observes Richard Bayer, chief
operating officer of The Five O’Clock Club, a national
career-counseling organization based in New York.
The Five O’Clock Club used to bring together
Philadelphia’s movers and shakers. Now it’s a busi-
ness that helps men and women get their careers
back on track.
Something about the title appealed to Kate
Wendleton, so she picked up The History of the
Harry Smith: Many people wouldn’t like to hire some- Five O’Clock Club, written in 1891 by J. Hampton
one’s spouse, son, daughter, or other relative. But more Moore, from a Philadelphia bookstore.
and more companies are changing their hiring policies, That was the beginning— or the new begin-
and in some cases, embracing family in the workplace. ning— for the Five O’Clock Club.
There are a few rules to working successfully with Founded in the 1880’s, the Five O’Clock Club
family members. Richard Bayer, chief operating officer for more than a half-century was one of
of The Five O’Clock Club, a career-counseling firm, is Philadelphia’s famed dining clubs— social groups
here to guide us through some of them. that brought together gentlemen— in this case, 35
Good morning sir, and welcome. from the railroads, industry, newspapers, theatre,
politics, and the judiciary— to discuss the affairs of
Richard Bayer: Good morning, it’s good to be here. the day.
Smith: Now, what are some of the advantages to work- Fast forward to the 1990’s. Drinking and din-
ing with family members? ing are out— blatant networking is in. And discus-
sion has been narrowed to one topic: employment.
Bayer: Most importantly it is the continuity through
The Five O’Clock Club works because it keeps
time. You share values with your family members, and
people focused on the specific things that they need
you can trust them to do the work. They’re also dedicat-
to do in order to job search successfully, based on
ed to the company. All of these things contribute to a
research, tactics, and assessment.
desirable stability in the workplace.
 Katie Couric: So,
tell me, what were
some of the mis-
takes Jeff made,
and what are some Ken Rosado: We’re here talking to Richard Bayer,
of the right things COO of the Five O’Clock Club, about how to man-
to do when you age job search stress. Richard, tell our viewers
lose your job? some key ways they can manage the stress that
comes with job search.
Kate Wendleton:
Well, first, Jeff shouldn’t have settled for a job at the Richard Bayer: There are three main points to
Gap. Taking on work ends up hindering your job search. keep in mind in order to effectively manage job
You lose valuable time, and you end up stuck in a rut. search stress. Number one is to stay positive; more
often than not, we get the best of ourselves by
Katie Couric: So don’t rush to settle for just any job
thinking negatively. Staying positive about the
after you’re fired.
search can lower your stress. Second, establish a
Kate Wendleton: Right. He should have been tapping routine. Part of the stress that comes with job search
into his network, talking to people in his field and indus- is feeling lost after becoming accustomed to a daily
try, and getting a feel for the market. After getting a feel routine. Establishing a new routine can lower your
for the market, you’re ready to start targeting positions. job search stress. Third, assess your situation. Take
In order to have a successful job search, you’ve got to the time to think about where you are and where
target at least 200 positions. you want to go next. Having a clear plan can also
keep your stress level down.
Katie Couric: Wow, really?
Kate Wendleton: Yes, and those are positions, not job
openings. It really is a numbers game, and the more
effectively and efficiently you can target those positions,
the more likely you are to land a great new job.

During the recent heat wave, looking profes-

sional may have taken a back seat to keeping com-
Kate Wendleton, the president of The Five O’Clock fortable. But one expert warns that cooler looks
Club, a New York career-coaching organization, believes may burn your chances in an interview.
that given the right tools and preparation, most people can “The way you look and carry yourself will
learn how to maximize their earning potential, or at the send subtle signals to a prospective employer
very least get their fair market value. which can improve or derail your chances for mak-
Some are worried that the current economy will allow ing the cut,” said Richard Bayer, COO of the Five
less wiggle room for salary negotiation. That isn’t neces- O’Clock Club. “It’s even trickier during the sum-
sarily the case, according to Ms. Wendleton of The Five mer, when lighter, more casual attire is ubiquitous.”
O’Clock Club. She and others say following some basic
rules can give you an edge in discussing pay, no matter
the economic climate.
Contact: David Madison
Senior Vice President
The Five O’Clock Club
212-286-4500
Please visit
“One organization with a long record www.fiveoclockclub.com
of success in helping people find jobs The Five O’Clock Club
is The Five O’Clock Club.” 300 East 40th Street
New York, NY 10016